The protesters were dressed in black-and-white striped mock prison gear to underline the theme of the demonstration - "Victims get life - Criminals get parole".

Organiser Garth McVicar said the death of Mrs Yang "just reinforced why we were there".

"There was a lot of emotion and people were talking about it and what is going on out there."

The Sensible Sentencing Trust will also be involved in a hikoi, or march, this month organised by Hastings councillor Henare O'Keefe, whose daughter was the victim of a home invasion last week. The eight-kilometre walk on June 27 has been dubbed "Enough is Enough! We are taking our community back!".

Among the demonstrators at Mt Eden was Rita Croskery, mother of murdered pizza delivery man Michael Choy, who said that while the families of victims were serving a life sentence, the prisoners were getting parole.

Police were under-resourced and criminals knew if they committed a crime they were unlikely to be caught. Those facing charges knew they would receive short sentences.

The march took place as police say they are considering putting armed patrols on Auckland streets to deal with the growing violence.

The proposal, following a top level police review, involves a six- month trial of armed patrols 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For the trial, police will be armed with Bushmaster semi-automatic rifles and Glock 9mm pistols.

Detective Inspector Mark Gutry said yesterday that the intruder who attacked Mrs Yang probably broke into her Saralee Drive home through an unlocked window about 5.50pm on Wednesday.